Five Years Later
by elena00dgmpkm
Summary: Kutau! Kukai and Utau are forced to be apart long ago. What happens when fate allows them a second chance five years later? Have they changed too much? What will stand in their way?
1. Goodbye

**Hello there. I honestly have no idea where this idea came from. I was bored and randomly started typing away until I just couldn't stop! D:**

**Kukai: Cool. I'm glad you were thinking about me that much. ;D**

**Uhhh, sure. Anywho! Tell me whatcha think. I think this could go far, although I have no idea where it's going yet. I'd an experiment really. I want to see what my own mind can create without countless hours sitting and thinking about. It should be interesting. :3 Anyways, do the disclaimer so I don't get sued.**

**Kukai: Elena doesn't own Shugo Chara!!! :D**

**Don't be so happy about it! D:**

Five Years Later

Chapter 1: Goodbye

Utau looked across the table at Kukai. They were sitting together quietly. No one saying a word. They both knew what would be said but neither of them wanted to hear the words for themselves.

Utau had called him here, to the ramen shop. Their ramen shop, as she always thought of it. She could see the hurt in his eyes. He knew what was coming.

She took a deep breathe before looking at him hard. "Look, I know it's not what we want to hear but…" She trailed off. She really didn't know how to say it. The look on his face was flat. Expressionless the moment she had begun to talk.

Oh god, she didn't want to hurt him. She didn't want to see his lips curved down in a frown. She didn't want to see his eyes filled with hurt. She just didn't want to do this. These thoughts made her angry. She knew it had to be done. There shouldn't have been any hesitation to start with.

"Look, I love you." She said quietly. At this his head shot up, an almost angry look on his face.

"Utau! We both know what you came here to say so just say it! Don't say things that only make it hurt that much more!" He said angrily.

Utau flinched at his words before looking down. "We can't be together anymore." She mumbled. She peeked up at him and he sat still, not moving. But if you looked hard enough, you could see the sadness in his eyes that he'd try to hide from everyone.

"Look, we both knew all along that this wasn't going to work! We knew from the start how this would end. We knew we were destined to say goodbye. Don't make this worse then it has to be." She looked down, defeated. She didn't want to do this. "I don't want you to hate me. I want our memories to be remembered with a smile."

She sighed. He still wasn't saying anything. This worried her. Normally she couldn't get him to shut up. "You know I don't want to hurt you." She said, looking at her lap and watching as the tears splashed onto her pants.

"We knew that nothing would keep us together yet we tried anyway. I love you enough to let you go. As much as we wanted this, there was nothing we could do to make it right!" She said looking up at him fiercely.

He finally seemed to be affected by her words. He looked at her sympathetically, a look she hated, before reaching over and wiping a tear away. "Don't cry. I-I know." He said, his voice a bit thick.

She looked at her hands which were balled up into fists in her lap. "We've…tried. There's no where left for us to go though. They're looking for me…" She said as she trailed off.

He nodded is head. "I'm sorry." He said looking down. She frowned. "Why are you sorry?"

"I'm sorry for making you feel this way, knowing we can't be together…"

She smiled weakly. "Don't be sorry. There's nothing you could've done to stop me from loving you…"

He looked at her, sadness in his eyes. He held out a hand to her, as if he meant to put his hand on her cheek, but put it down on the table in front of him.

She wanted to tell him to wait for her. To wait until she somehow found a way out. She wanted to tell him to never love another as long as he lived but she knew she couldn't. It wasn't fair to him. She knew that although she may never truly move on, she wanted him to.

"Promise me something…" She said, looking down and closing her eyes.

"Anything." He said quietly.

"Find someone else. Don't wait for me…" Without hearing his answer she got up and gave him one last, longing look. The look on his face was so anguished though that she suddenly wished she hadn't. She didn't want to remember him this way. She turned around and left the ramen shop. As soon as she was outside and out of sight of him she began to run. She needed to get away faster. As she ran, tears ran down her face as well.

She tried to remember him in that very same ramen shop. She tried to remember him happy and smiling. She didn't want that image of him last in her mind forever.

The more she ran, the more she realized that she couldn't run away from everything. She could run away from him as long as she lived, but she couldn't escape the thoughts, the memories, or the pain.

She ran into an ally and sat down against the wall, curling into a ball. She put her head down against her knees and just sobbed. She sobbed long and hard. Why had everything always had to be so hard! It wasn't fair. First her father left her, then her mother betrayed her, and Ikuto had always had his own problems to deal with. And now she had to leave Kukai.

As she cried she was afraid after awhile that the tears wouldn't stop. They kept coming and she thought that she'd run out after awhile. Of course, she didn't, but the thought that maybe she'd stop soon was comforting. It wasn't long before she could hear them coming into the ally. She was still crying as they picked her up and put her into a black car. She continued to sob as the car pulled away, headed for her hell, her home, and her step father. She was headed for Easter.

***Five Years Later***

A nineteen year old blonde walked down the street, her destination the recording studio. It was a normal routine of hers lately. She always seemed to have to do there. She didn't like to take a car though. She liked walking. The fresh air made her feel better. Less trapped. At times she wished she had company. She'd always miss the days that she had had her little shugo chara to help her.

But then one day, they disappeared. She must not have believed in them enough… It didn't really matter though. Others were useless. You couldn't rely on anyone but yourself in this world. No one could take care of your better then, well, you.

She walked through the door of the studio and Sanjou ran over to her. "Ok, Utau! This is an important song. You need to get it just right! It'll make the company millions! And hopefully with new technologies it'll bring out the heart's eggs of kids everywhere!" She said happily. Utau just rolled her eyes. She could really care less about that.

She didn't even know what she cared about anymore. She had no personal reasons to be in the company besides not having a choice. Her beloved step father threatened to hurt her mother if she didn't do as he said.

Like anything had ever stopped him from hurting her anyway.

She knew her brother was long gone. He had run away from Easter long ago and hadn't seen him since. She didn't know where he went but she knew he had abandoned her. He was just like their father. She knew he wasn't coming back for her and she didn't care. He didn't care what happened to her, so why should she care about him?

When she was finished recording she came out of the studio and Sanjou cheered. "We will definitely find the Embryo soon!"

"Whatever." She stated tonelessly and walked out the door. She was tired and ready to go home.

When she got home she ignored her mother in the kitchen. She was crying again. That was one thing Utau couldn't stand. Her mother cried all the time. It was because she was weak. Utau would never be weak like that.

She went up into her room and looked around. The place was a mess. She hadn't cleaned up in a long time. She decided to tidy up a bit. Maybe get rid of some old things. She turned on the TV for some background noise and started to work.

She didn't get very far before she heard a familiar name on the screen. "So Kukai Souma, what's it feel like to be one of the youngest players to ever be on Japan's professional soccer team!?" A reporter asked excitedly.

Utau's head whipped up towards the screen. Standing next to the reporter was a young brunette. He was probably about her age. He was extremely good looking with a confident smile on his lips. He was much older and much more built then the Kukai she had known.

"Well, it's pretty exciting. I've always dreamed of this as a kid." He said, trying no to brag. She had to smiled at his "modesty". She knew on the inside he was bursting with pride.

She continued to watch the interview as she sat down at her desk. She hadn't thought about Kukai in so long. Of course she hadn't dreamt of dating anyone in the past five years, she wondered if he had…

Finally, as if on queue, the question she wanted to hear popped up.

"So Kukai, tell me what all the young ladies have been dying to know! Any love interests??" He asked, raising his eyebrows as if he was the one who really wanted to know.

Kukai frowned for a moment, as if he were thinking seriously. "Well, there is a girl…" He began.

"Really?! Who is she? What's her name? What do you like about her?" He shot out quickly. Kukai just scratched the back of his head.

"I-I don't know. I can't really tell you much about her. I don't even think she knows I'm talking about her right now." He said with a laugh. The reporter nodded understandingly and then went on to more questions.

Utau didn't realize she was holding her breath and when she did she let it out. So he had moved on…

She looked away from the TV. Of course he had. That was what she asked of him, wasn't it? It was what she had wanted…

So why did she feel like something in her chest was crumbling?

She decided to turn off the TV since she had had enough pain for one afternoon and continued to clean her room.

Just then something fell off her desk and she looked down at it with wide eyes that were slowly filling with tears.

She stared down at the picture on the floor. It was her and Kukai. They were in their ramen shop smiling and laughing. She hadn't been that happy in a long time. She picked up the picture slowly and looked at it for a moment before throwing it back into the pile of papers on her desk where she couldn't see it.

She wiped away her tears and laughed bitterly. "I said I wasn't going to be like her…" She said slowly. Then she got into her bed and closed her eyes, begging for sleep to relieve her of her burdens. To be taken away from it all for just a few hours.

That was until she woke with a start when her step father came home. He was down stairs yelling at her mother. She could hear something glass break and she hoped it wasn't over her mother's head again. Last time it took hours getting all the glass out.

When the noise stopped and she heard the front door slam she walked down stairs to see her mother crumpled in the corner.

She had a new black eye that went well with the other one. The vase that had broken was thankfully all over the floor and not in her skin at all. She took her mother's arm and lifted her off the floor. She brought her into the living room and sat her on the couch.

"Mom? Mom! Are you ok? He's gone. I'm gonna clean up the glass. You want something? Water? A wet cloth?" She asked her the usual questions and then brought her both when her mother stared straight ahead without answering.

She cleaned up the mess and looked around with a sigh. Everything was back to the way it was before. No one would ever know. Utau had learned long ago that it was best to keep out of such arguments. At least this way her mother was the only one hurt and someone, namely her, was there to clean up afterwards. When both of them were beat, it helped no one.

She went back up to her room and looked in her mirror. She wondered how much more of this life she could take…

**Rawr! First chapter. Quite fun to write. :3 Review please.**


	2. Lost and Found

**Well it hasn't been very long at all and here I an updating. And I gots me a review! :D Oh and by the way, I answer all reviews here! Cause I'm cool like that. :P**

**KukaiXxUtau - I'm glad you like it! :D I have to agree about all those gosh darn sad parts. D: So here's that update like you wanted.**

**Ok, so I don't own shugo chara and-**

**Utau: Thank god. Look what you've already done to me in this!**

**Uh, on with the story! **

Five Years Later

Chapter 2: Lost and Found

The next few days Utau found herself picking up the same picture and just looking at it. She had loved him and he had loved her. But now he loved someone else.

Part of her wanted to find him. Talk to him. Make him love her again. But that was the irrational part of her. Her brain told her that it didn't work quite like that. For one thing she was still with Easter and that wasn't about to change any time soon. It would just be the same thing as last time when she was taken away from him. And of course, he loved someone else and that probably wasn't about to change either.

Everyday there was something there to remind her of him. Whether it was a simple ramen shop or a picture of the soccer star himself.

One day she decided she needed some personal time and so instead of going to the studio she walked to a part of town she hadn't been in a long time.

She just wanted to walk around a bit until she saw the place her heart had really been looking for. It was the ramen shop. It was still standing and full of customers too. She walked up to it and decided eating a little ramen inside couldn't hurt.

She walked inside and looked around a bit. Then she sighed. For some reason in her mind she thought coming in here would make her feel better. And she had somehow hoped he would be here, waiting for her. Of course he wasn't and she suddenly wasn't hungry anymore. She walked outside and looked at her watch. It was getting late so she decided to head home. She began to walk in the right direction but didn't really get too far.

After she had only been for a few minutes a black limo pulled up next to her. She stiffened and looked over to see Kazuomi step out. She clenched her teeth and stared at him. She looked around at the street she was on and was unhappy to see that it was empty. Most of the buildings in the area were boarded up and the streetlights weren't even lit.

"Utau. Where were you today?" he asked angrily. She didn't answer him. "Utau! I asked you a question! I demand an answer! We had a very important meetings today with different companies that were there to see you! And you knew this!" He was so angry he was spitting with each word.

"I needed a day off." She said slowly, suddenly wanting to stick up for herself. That was a mistake.

She felt his fist make contact with the side of her face and she fell to the ground.

"Don't you DARE talk to me like that!" He yelled and began to punch her again. She put her arms over her head to defend herself but it didn't do much good. After awhile she didn't have any more strength and she dropped to the ground further. She was now laying on the ground when he began to kick in her in the stomach. She gasped for air when she couldn't breathe anymore and he finally stopped.

She watched him wipe his bloody fists on a handkerchief he took out of his pocket and he got back in the car. "Just leave her there." He said as he closed the door and they drove away.

Utau couldn't breathe. She closed her eyes tightly as cold tears slid down her bruised face. One of her eyes was swollen and she couldn't see out of it anyway. She shivered on the ground. She was so cold. She opened her eyes and saw that it was snowing. She knew she couldn't stay there any longer otherwise she'd freeze. She slowly lifted herself off the ground and held onto a streetlight for support. Once she was standing she began to walk.

It was dark and cold but she walked for a few minutes before finding a playground. She stumbled into it and grabbed onto a swing set. She sat down on it and slumped over in pain.

She didn't know how long she sat there. Probably not too long. She was so out of it she didn't even hear the footsteps when someone else came into the playground.

"Utau?" She heard someone ask slowly. She looked up and was shocked to see who was standing before her. She wiped off the blood on her lip with her hand and just stared at him.

"Kukai…?" She said slowly. He ran over to her with shock and worry on his face.

"What the hell happened? Were you mugged or something? Come on, we have to get out of here." He said. He put his arm around her waist and lifted her from the swing set. She put her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. She could barely walk though. When he noticed this he lifted her bridal style. Utau couldn't really protest because she was so glad to be off her feet. Then suddenly, everything went black.

***

Utau's head was killing her. Her whole body ached and she was surprisingly warm. She figured the sun must be out today. She knew she must have pasted out on the street and she was regretting opening her eyes to the bright sun that seemed to be shining today.

She could remember her dream last night. She had dreamt that Kukai had found her in a playground. She smiled lightly, glad that she had at least gotten to see him in her dreams.

She slowly opened her eyes but was surprised to see that she wasn't on the street. She was in a bed. But it wasn't her bed. She opened her eyes wider but realized that one of them was still a bit swollen and hurt when she tried to open it fully.

She sat up slowly and saw that she was in a bedroom. There was nothing that could really tell her who's room it was so she decided she should get up to see who had possibly kidnapped her.

She walked to the door and opened it slowly. She saw that she seemed to be in a small one bedroom apartment. She could see a door opened to the bathroom and decided that was the first place she should go.

She wanted to wash her face but when she saw herself in the mirror her eyes widened. She was a mess. Her hair wasn't up anymore and was down and full of leaves and dirt. And her face was worse. She had dried blood on her lip and a black eye. The rest of her face wasn't as bad. She had a small cut on her cheek but it wasn't too bad. She decided she could use a shower so she turned on the hot water and quickly undressed. The hot water was soothing on the rest of her bruises and when she was done she felt a lot better. She put her wet hair up in it's usual way and put her clothes on from yesterday. When she looked at her self in the mirror she felt much better at her appearance this time.

She walked out of the bathroom and looked at the rest of the apartment. She saw a living room with a kitchen area next to it. The couch was facing away from her but she could see someone's hand hanging off the side of it.

She walked over slowly and gasped when she saw who was sleeping on the couch. It was Kukai. Maybe she hadn't been dreaming after all. She looked at him for a moment with a fond smile. He was sleeping like a mess. One arm was above his head while the other was sitting gently on his stomach. One of his legs was hanging off the couch while the other was straight, although since he was so tall and the couch was so small it was leaning off the other end. His face was smoothed out and he looked like the Kukai she had known five years ago.

She noticed that a blanket was on the floor that he must have been trying to use before it had fallen to the ground. She picked it up and laid it over him before walking towards the kitchen. The least she could do for him was make him breakfast.

She had learned to cook pretty well considering her mother hadn't cooked in years. She always cooked all the meals for the both of them. She had found some eggs and bacon in the fridge and a frying pan in a cabinet under the stove.

When she was finished making everything she put it all on two plates she found in the sink that she had washed. It seemed he didn't particularly like washing dishes.

She was setting them on the small table in the kitchen when she watched a groggy Kukai walk into the bedroom. She giggled as he ran out like a mad man when he realized she wasn't there. The moment he heard her laughing though his head turned quickly in her direction and she watched him relax.

He winced when he looked at her face, probably looking at her black eye.

They stood there a moment just watching each other. It had been so long and neither one knew what to say.

"Uh, hi." Kukai said slowly and Utau couldn't help but chuckle.

"All this time and the best thing you could think of is hi?" She asked and then they both seemed to relax now that a conversation had started. He walked over laughing at her comment and looked at the table questioningly.

"Breakfast?" He asked.

"It was the least I could do after…" She trailed off.

He frowned and sat down. "How are you feeling. I see you found the shower." He said motioning towards her wet hair.

She smiled and sat down with him. "Yeah. I'm feeling much better after a hot shower." She admitted.

They began to eat and were both silent for awhile. Utau couldn't help but notice that this was just like old times. Except it was breakfast instead of ramen.

After a moment his face turned serious and he looked up at her. "Utau…what happened?" He asked slowly.

Utau's fork froze in mid air and she looked away from Kukai. She didn't want to lie to him but she didn't want to tell him the truth either.

The silence stretched on and she knew that the silence itself was telling Kukai that it wasn't just a mugging.

"It was Kazuomi, wasn't it?" He said through clenched teeth. Utau was surprised by his sudden anger but still remained silent.

Just then, the phone began to ring. They both looked over at it because it was sitting on the table, right next to them. Utau looked at the caller ID out of curiosity. It read 'YAMAMOTO, IZUMI'. Utau frowned as Kukai reached over and answered it.

She frowned even more when she saw the smile on his face as he said a cheerful. "Hey Izumi!"

She could hear a light female voice on the other line but couldn't really hear what she was saying. She watched Kukai intently.

"I'm really sorry but I think we're gonna have to reschedule." He said with a frown. He looked over at Utau and when he saw she was watching him with a frown on her face, he himself frowned.

"Yeah, I'm really busy today so I'm gonna have to go…Ok, I'll call you tomorrow or something…Bye." He hung up and put the phone down. She watched him and he looked up at her.

"What?" He asked with a frown.

"Oh it's nothing." She said crossing her arms across her chest. "But just out of curiosity, who was that?" She asked although she wasn't looking at him.

A small smile spread across his face as he looked at her. "A-Are you jealous!?" He asked in disbelieve. She blushed furiously.

"No! What the hell would I be jealous for?!" She yelled. He just laughed at her for a moment as she glared at him.

"She's my friend named Izumi." He told her. Utau wasn't convinced that she was just a friend and she was still angry at his accusation but she let it go.

"Whatever. I don't really care." she said as she put more food in her mouth.

He chuckled at her stubbornness and continued to eat as well.

**Review! Nothing else to really say. :D**


	3. Runaways

**Woo! Update! Yay!**

**-holic - Thanks. :3 I'm glad you like it. I'm very happy Kukai is back. :D I love Kukai. XD**

**Ok, disclaimer.**

**Amu: Elena's doesn't own shugo chara.**

**Uh, yeah. Where did you come from?**

**Amu: *shrugs***

**Ooook. On with the story then.**

Five Years Later

Chapter 3: Runaways

Utau stood up and put her plate in the sink. They hadn't talked anymore during breakfast and she was thankful for that. He watched her as she walked into the bedroom and found her coat. She put it on and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" He asked her.

She clenched her teeth. She knew she had no where to go. And she also knew that they were probably looking for her and that Kazuomi would be angry that she hadn't gone back home right away. She looked back at Kukai with a stubborn frown. She didn't want to stay there though.

For one, she didn't want to depend on him. She was independent and she could take care of herself. She'd find somewhere to go.

And another thing, it was just too painful. Seeing him after all this time was hard. She wanted nothing but to go back to the way it had been back then. But he had moved on. She was reminded of his interview on TV and his friendly phone call with Izumi.

She looked away from him towards the door and wiped away a single tear that escaped.

"I don't need you."

She put her hand on the door knob but she could feel a hand grabbing her other arm gently

"Don't leave. Where are you going to go?" He asked slowly.

She looked towards him and then down at the ground. "I'll find a place."

He pulled her arm gently leading her away from the door. She slowly complied but was still frowning. He put himself between her and the door.

"You have to stay here. What would happen if he found you…?"

She looked away from him again. She couldn't stand that he was right. So she wasn't about to admit it.

He pushed her towards the couch and she crossed her arms but walked towards it anyway. He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her down to sit. She did as he wanted but continued to frown. She wouldn't let him think she wanted to stay.

He sat down next to her with sigh. "Why are you so stubborn?" He asked her.

"I'm not stubborn. You're just pushy."

He chuckled and laid back before frowning. He always had a way of turning serious suddenly.

"Utau, you can't run away from my questions forever." He said slowly.

She sighed. She knew there was a lot to go over. So much time had pasted. And they had thought they would never see each other again.

"I just don't know where to start. What do you want to know?" She asked, still refusing to look at his face.

He sighed. "Let's start simple. What have you been up to?" He asked her.

She frowned. She had been braced for a better question then that. "Oh, well, I've been singing. Recording songs, making albums, going on TV a lot. You know…" She trailed off.

He frowned. "For Easter…"

She nodded slowly.

He sighed. "I figured as much from the start. So, I was right about him doing this then?" He asked, gesturing towards her bruises.

She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah…" She didn't really want to say more.

"Does it…happen a lot?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "I keep out of their fights. It was only because I didn't show up at work yesterday." She explained.

"Why didn't you go?" He asked curiously.

She thought about this a moment. "I just needed some time off. It's not like I particularly enjoy what I do." She said with a frown.

He nodding, seeming to take that as an answer.

"Now it's my turn." She said turning to him, hoping to get the conversation switched around a bit. "What have you been up to?"

He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Oh, uh, well I finally made it past a college soccer team." He said sheepishly.

She nodded. She already knew this of course and she wasn't surprised either. He had always been so determined when it came to sports. And he had always been good too. She had never been able to keep up with him when it came to athletics.

"I saw you on TV, Mr. Modesty." She said with a light smile.

"You mean the interview?" He asked.

"Yep. That reporter seemed very excited about talking to you." She chuckled lightly on the outside, but on the inside she could only think of one question the reporter had asked that she wanted to know about. She looked up at his face and saw that he seemed a bit…nervous?

"You saw the, uh, whole thing?" He asked.

She looked at him curiously for a moment. "Most of it." She told him.

He gave off a nervous laugh. "Oh, uh, see anything interesting?" He asked.

She frowned. Was he wondering if she saw his "love interest" question? She didn't understand his discomfort at the thought. Maybe he didn't want her to know he had found someone new. Maybe he felt bad.

She shrugged to answer his question. "It was all very…interesting." She said. She knew her answer would only make him more nervous but she wasn't about to tell him just exactly what she saw or exactly what she thought about it either.

He laughed nervously. "Yeah, I'm sure it was. So any other questions?" He asked, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Uh, what about your old friends? Do you still talk to them?" She asked.

"Yeah, I see them sometimes. Well except Amu. She's not in Japan right now." He told her slowly, but he couldn't seem to look directly at her as he said this.

"Where is she?"

"I'm not sure right now. Somewhere in Europe." He said with a shrug.

"Why? Is she studying abroad or something?" She asked. She wanted to know why he looked almost guilty talking about it.

"Well, not exactly…"

"Well what is she doing? Stop dancing around the answer and spit it out!" She said, losing her temper just a bit.

"Ok ok. Just promise you won't get upset or anything." He said with a sigh.

"Why would I get upset?"

"Well, she's with…Ikuto." Utau couldn't believe it. Her brother, who had abandoned her when she had needed him most, was off in another country with his precious Amu.

"What are they doing there?" She asked slowly.

Kukai sighed. "They're looking for your father."

Utau sat there with her eyes wide in disbelief. She could still remember the day her father had left even though she was so young. He had broken her mother's heart and left them to fend for themselves among their relatives. Then a few years later, only his violin could be found. Her mother had had a mental breakdown and Ikuto was the only one she could look to for guidance and help. And now he left her to find the very man that destroyed their lives. And for all they knew, their father was probably dead.

"You can't be serious." She said sadly. She could feel tears building up behind her eyes. She was reminded of her shugo chara that also disappeared and left her all alone. "Why did everyone leave me here…?" She said as a few tears spilled over.

Kukai watched her sympathetically but shook his head. "Don't cry, Utau. I'm here now. You're not alone anymore."

She looked up at him for a moment. "How can you say that when you know what happened last time…"

A silence followed her statement. Neither of them had spoken a word about the past yet.

Suddenly Kukai stood and Utau look up at him questioningly.

"Then let's go too. Let's leave." He told her.

"Run…away?" She asked slowly.

"Yeah! Why not? You don't want to be in Easter and your nineteen now. We should just go." He said, holding a hand out to her.

"We? As in you and I? But, what about your soccer?" She asked.

He waved his hand at her. "That doesn't matter."

"Well, uh, what about Izumi?" She thought suddenly.

"She'll understand. I-I was planning on leaving soon anyway." He told her slowly.

"Planning on leaving? To where?" She asked.

He scratched the back of his head. "I don't really know where I was gonna go."

"But why? You were just going to leave everything behind?" She asked.

"Well, there was nothing really important here anyway… So what do you say? Will you come with me?" He asked.

She looked at his outstretched hand for a moment and tried to think of what was important to her here. She couldn't think of anything.

She smiled lightly and grabbed his hand.

***

She put her hair up into a hat and put on some big sunglasses. It wasn't the greatest disguise but it would do. Kukai didn't really need one since Easter didn't know about his connection to her. She knew they'd be in the airport to make sure she didn't plan on leaving the country.

They entered with all their bags and their boarding passes and hurried through security. When they asked her to remove her sun glasses she frowned.

She leaned up and whispered in his ear. "I'm Utau Hoshina. I didn't want my fans to recognize me here. I don't want you to have a mob on your hands." She slid her sun glasses down her nose a bit so he could just barely see her eyes.

"Well, ok. I know who you are. My daughter loves you. So I'll let you go with them on. A mob of people would only make my job harder." He said with a frown.

She smiled brightly and thanked him before walking through the rest of security and meeting Kukai at the end.

"Smooth." He said with a chuckle.

She laughed lightly. "Come on. Let's-"

She suddenly felt a tug on her arm and she was being pulled away. She turned around and struggled to get free. She knew the man that was currently pulling her through the large crowd had to work for Easter.

"Let me go!" She yelled. She elbowed him in the gut with as much force as she could and when he staggered she ran.

Kukai had been running towards her then, trying to find her in the large crowd so when she saw him she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the terminal.

"Come on. We've got to get to the tram before they do." She said. She didn't know where the rest of them were but they must have been coming after her.

They made it too the tram area but the doors were closing.

"Hold the door open!" She yelled and thankfully someone actually did. They ran into the tram and the doors shut behind them. Just then she saw a few men in black suits run into the tram area. They ran towards the tram but it was already taking off for the terminals.

She breathed out a sigh. "That was close. We should make it on the plane before they get there as long as no one is waiting at the terminals. But I doubt that."

Kukai nodded. "I'm just sorry that you almost got caught. I-I should've been watching you more carefully. And then you almost were gone and-"

"Calm down. I'm fine. It wasn't your fault either. Why are you all worked up about this?" She asked, eyeing him curiously.

He sighed. "I just couldn't stand seeing them take you away again…" He said looking at his feet.

She looked at him for a moment but didn't say anything more. They were at the terminals anyway. They boarded their plane right on time and just as the next tram was coming. Utau could see the men on the tram looking around for her but they went onto the plane before they were spotted.

They got in their seats and relaxed as the plane took off.

"So, where exactly are we going?" She asked.

"Venice, Italy." He told her.

**Sorry if your not an amuto fan and didn't enjoy the little comment up there. If you are though then yay! I'm sure that made you happy. XD Review either way! :D**


	4. Good Old Times, Sorta

**Again sorry it took a little while. :x**

**Utau: You should be sorry.**

**Oh I am. Anyway, let's answer some reviews first.**

**Utau: … ummm, you actually didn't get any reviews.**

**:O None? Really? Zero?????**

**Utau: yeahhhhh.**

**Oh…well um, this is awkward. I guess I'll just go on with the disclaimer. T_T**

**Utau: Don't be upset…If your upset you might make horrible things happen in this story! D:**

**I don't own shugo chara or any characters. But I do own what happens to them. :D**

**Utau: D:**

Five Years Later

Chapter 4: Good Old Times...Sorta

Utau looked out the window of the plane for a moment. They had landed and people were starting to get up but yet she was stuck looking outside. True it was beautiful but that wasn't why she couldn't look away. She was zoning out more then anything.

Suddenly she felt someone touch her arm. "Utau, we have to go." Kukai whispered gently. He probably thought she had been sleeping.

She looked over at him but hadn't expected his face to be so close to hers. They stayed like that for a moment, just looking at eachother with wide eyes before Kukai pulled away and grabbed their bags from above them. Utau blushed for a moment but wanted to smack herself for the reflex. Why should she be blushing?

They got off the plane and went into the food court. They got some food and sat down.

"So where are we suppose to stay?" She asked him.

"I have a place. My cousin stayed there. It's cheap and clean."

She lifted an eyebrow. "Cheap? Please don't tell me it's a dirty little motel."

He scratched the back of his head. "I never saw the place but my cousin said it was nice enough to sleep in. It's not like we're on vacation here."

She shrugged but was still a little unsure. "I guess."

They finished eating and as Utau got up to throw out her garbage Kukai smiled and handed her his.

She frowned but took it anyway. She threw the stuff out but as she was going back to the table she hit into someone. Hard. She had practically been shoved.

"Hey! Would you look where your going!" She yelled only to find a young guy looking at her with a scared expression on.

"I-I'm sorry!" He said quickly as he began to pick up some books on the floor.

Utau suddenly felt bad as she watched the boy, probably around her age, bending down to pick up the books she had knocked out of his hands.

"Hey, I'm sorry. It was probably my fault. Let me help you." She began to pick up some of the books and he looked over at her.

"I'm James." He smiled at her and Utau couldn't help but think the boy was, in a way, kinda cute. He had brown hair that was cleanly cut and nice looking clothes on. He was in a dress shirt and some dress pants.

"I'm Utau." She told him as she held out her hand to him. He smiled and shook it.

She looked down at the books. Advanced Chemistry? Calculus? Modern Literature?

"What brings you to Italy?" She asked.

He smiled. "You couldn't tell?" he said gesturing to the books as he took them out of her hands. "I'm studying abroad. I'm from America." He told her.

She smiled. "Oh. That makes sense." She said.

"Yeah I-"

"Utau? I thought you were just throwing out garbage?"

She turned around and looked at Kukai. He seemed a bit…distraught.

"Oh, um, Kukai, this is James. He's from America studying abroad." She told him.

Kukai smiled at him half heartedly. "Nice to meet you." Although his tone didn't imply so.

"Kukai, what's the matt-"

"Come on. We have to go. We have to check in by two." He told her as he pulled her arm towards the door.

"Bye James!" She yelled to him.

He waved to her as she went with a frown on his face.

Utau was pulled through the crowd and when they made it outside she frowned at Kukai.

"What was that all about?" She asked angrily.

"What was what all about?"

"You know. You seemed angry about something." She told him.

"I'm not angry. Why would I be angry?" He asked in a calmer manner then before.

She frowned. "Whatever. Your weird."

At that a car pulled up in front of them. A guy opened the window and looked at them.

"Need a…um ride?" He was clearly having trouble speaking English. ((A/N: Yeah, they're all speaking English. I know they're from Japan but…Uhh just get over it. XD))

Kukai nodded. "Yeah. We need a ride."

The man smiled. "Get in! Get in!"

Kukai opened the door and let Utau get in the back first before joining her quickly. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to the man.

"Can you take us here?" He asked. The man nodded and began to drive.

It was a quiet drive because neither of them wanted to say anything. Utau occupied the time by looking out the window. The city was truly beautiful. For one thing, there was water everywhere! And boats going through the waterways. A lot of the roads and walkways were made of stone and the buildings were old and the architecture was amazing.

They reached a small stone building with the same style as the others but clearly was a lot newer and didn't quite have the same sense about it.

They got out of the car and paid the driver who thanked them a lot before leaving.

Kukai opened the front door and held it for Utau. She walked inside and Kukai came in behind her with the bags. She walked up to the counter and rang the small bell sitting there.

No one came.

She rang it again.

Still no one came.

Utau was not a patient person and so she began to ring it a few more times until Kukai grabbed the bell from the counter and she realized she was hitting wood instead of a bell.

"Calm down. I think I hear someone in the back." He placed the bell on the counter just as a burly, older man with graying hair came out from the back.

He looked at Kukai who just took his hand off the bell and frowned. "You could have patience." He mumbled and Kukai looked at him with disbelieve. Utau laughed.

"I told him to give you a moment." She shrugged and the man laughed. She looked over at Kukai who was frowning at her and gave him a wink.

"So how can I help you young lady?" The man asked nicely.

Utau smiled. "We need a room for a little while. Money isn't a problem but we're just not sure how long we'll be staying quite yet." The man nodded.

"I have just the thing." He reached under the counter and pulled out a key with the number 8 on it.

He put it on the counter. "Here's a nice sweet that'll give you two plenty of room." He said with a smile.

"And don't worry about the bill. I'll bill you at the end. The rates are 100 a night." Utau nodded. That was pretty cheap. When she had gone on tour she remembered staying at places that cost a hundred times that much a night.

"Let me show you to your room." He said as he began to walk down a hallway.

They followed him down the hallway until they reached door number eight. He handed Utau the key and smiled. "Hope you have a nice stay here." He said before going back to his spot by the counter.

Utau took the key and unlocked the door. When she looked inside she froze.

"What?" Kukai asked, who wasn't able to see into the room from the hallway.

She turned around and glared at him. "Your sleeping on the floor." She growled.

Kukai reached his head around and saw that the room only had one bed in it.

She walked inside and he followed her, putting their bags on the floor.

"What, you don't want to snuggle?" He asked with a laugh.

Suddenly a pillow hit him in the head.

She sat down on the bed and sighed. She was tired out from the trip. She also wondered what was going on at home. She knew her step father would be pissed at this point. She just hoped her mother was ok.

She turned her attention to the room. It wasn't too bad. It smelt like cleaning supplies which meant it was at least clean. It was a small room with four doors in it. One led to the hallway and Utau assumed that one was a bathroom.

Kukai opened one of the doors and found that it was a closet with an ironing board that of course came down and smacked him in the head. At this Utau could not help but burst out into fits of laughter.

Kukai rubbed his head and smiled at her. "Hey, that's not funny. That hurt." Although he was laughing as he said this. Her laughter seemed to be contagious because now they were both laughing.

She got up and walked over to him. "Oh you poor thing. Now your brains going to be worse then it already was."

He laughed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, miss smart ass."

She laughed and began to investigate the rest of the doors. The next one she opened was yet again a closet. It didn't have anything dangerous that flew out at her so she closed it and went towards the last door which indeed led to a bathroom. The bathroom was pretty clean too and for that, Utau was grateful.

"I have to hand it to you, it's a good place. Cheap, and most importantly clean. Plus Easter can't easily track us in a small family owned place like this."

He nodded. "Wow, I actually did something right?" he asked her. She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Surprisingly."

They began to unpack their things a bit each using one of the closets that way there would be more room.

Once that was done they both sat down on the bed.

Kukai sighed. "So what do we do now?"

Utau laughed. "I don't know." She turned to him. "Well you could start off by telling me what your problem was earlier." she asked.

He frowned. "I didn't have a problem."

"Yes you did! Stop denying it. I thought we were going to be honest with each other?" She asked.

He frowned at her. "I didn't like that guy." He said, still frowning.

"James?" She asked.

"Yeah."

She looked at him curiously. "Why? What was wrong with him?"

Kukai shrugged. "I don't know. I just didn't like him."

Utau laughed. "You didn't even talk to him! There has to be a reason."

"Well besides the fact that he was all over you, he just didn't rub me the right way."

She looked at him a moment with a knowing smile on her face. "You were jealous!" She accused him.

"What?! No! I wasn't jealous!" He yelled.

She burst out laughing. "You were jealous of him!"

"No I wasn't."

"Then why do you hate him?"

"You don't know him! For all you know he could be part of Easter."

She frowned. "Uh huh. I'm sure the American coming to Italy to study is really a secret Easter spy. You know, maybe the cab driver is too! And the owner here!" She gave him a mock horrified face but he didn't laugh.

"Lighten up. You shouldn't be mad."

He smiled. "True. It's not like you liked him or anything."

She frowned. "Why does it matter anyway. I mean, I could like whoever I wanted to." She said defiantly. It wasn't that she really liked James or anything but it was annoying her how he was acting about it. "I mean, you have your precious Izumi back home. What would it matter if I liked someone?!" She yelled.

"That's totally different!"

"How so? I don't see how it is! I mean what, I'm not allowed to move on? Why'd you even have to come back in my life and mess everything up! I was doing fine without you!"

"Oh yeah. You looked like you were doing real well when I found you in that park." He mumbled.

"I can take care of myself!"

"Sure looks like you can't." She said with a frown.

He was making her so angry at this point that she wanted to punch him in the face.

"What is your problem?! Look I don't know what was wrong with your perfect life but why did you have to bother trying to fix mine!"

"It's called help! You know maybe if you'd take some once in awhile you wouldn't be all alone!" He yelled.

For once Utau was speechless. Maybe it was her fault she was all alone. A tear slid down her face and she turned away from him.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and turned around completely when he saw she was crying.

"Hey…I-I didn't mean-"

But before he could finish she ran for the door and down the hallway until she made it outside.

It was dark out at this point but she kept running. She could hear him behind her yelling for her to stop but she didn't listen. After awhile his yells got quieter until she couldn't hear him at all. That was when she finally stopped running.

She sat down on a bench by one of the many waterways, hugged her knees to her chest and buried her head in her knees.

How could he say that to her? Especially after knowing how she felt about that. But was he right?

Suddenly someone tapped her arm and she smiled a bit. Of course he didn't mean what he said. He _had_ been screaming that he didn't mean it as he was chasing her.

She picked her head up. "I'm sor-" But stopped talking when she saw that the person before her wasn't Kukai.

"James?" She said slowly.

**Ohhh, cliff hanger. :o I really hope I get some reviews this time around. I mean, it makes me want to write more and-and-and it makes me very upset when I wait like a month to write and get no reviews. D: If you don't want to review it's cool but it'd just make me kinda happy to hear your thoughts. **


	5. Competition

**Ok. Just had the most confusing moment ever. I mixed up all my files and was super confused but I've got it all sorted out now. :D So I'd just like to say sorry to kmilitta cause last times it seems I did have a review after all. The file confusion caused but I won't make you sit through a boring story all about my computer files so let's move on! Reviews!**

**Kmilitta - I'm glad you like it! It makes me so happy to hear that! :D**

**GakuenAliceGRL - Woah, nice to see you here. :D I'll just comment on all your reviews. XD**

**Yes, poor Souko. D: They never go much into her personality in the anime, only in the manga but in the manga I had a special place for her.**

**I know! What a meanie! D: (for lack of a better word xD)**

**Freedom! :D**

**I know, Kutau is amazing, but hey, gotta be some conflict. XD**

**.luvr - Love the name by the way. And I hadn't known it was out but as soon as I read this review I ran to go read it! :DDDDDDDDDD It was amazing!!! I loved it so much! And you know they totally stole the swing thing from me. . They just did. I mean, sure she wasn't all beaten up or anything in that but they still stole it from me! XD Cutest thing EVAH! Ok sorry, fan girl problems. I'm working them out. **

**Oh but back to the actual part that reviewed my story. XD I'm glad you like it! I'm happy to hear it! I'll try to make them a bit longer for you but I just don't wanna drag anything out that really doesn't need to be, ya know? I'll try to get more stuff into it though. This one will hopefully be longer. :D**

**Ok, now that those are finally done, we can begin! :D**

**Kukai: Finally. You talk too much.**

**Technically, I'm typing.**

**Kukai: What ever! Elena doesn't own shugo chara. Now on with the story already!**

Five Years Later

Chapter 5: Competition

"James?" She said slowly. "What are you doing here?" She stretched her legs outso that she was sitting normally on the bench.

He sat next to her and shrugged. "You and your boyfriend get in a fight?" He asked as he wiped a tear from her cheek. She felt a bit uncomfortable that he had touched her cheek and she barley knew the guy but she knew it came from a sweet place so she didn't mind.

"He's not my boyfriend." She told him.

James seemed surprised. "Really? The way he pulled you away I just figured-"

"Yeah well he's not!" She yelled.

He recoiled slightly and she sighed.

"I'm sorry. Your right in one thing though. We did get into a fight. I guess I just can't believe the things he said to me…" She said quietly.

James nodded. "I understand." He said quietly. She was glad he just sat and listened. It was a nice quality. Most people feel the need to talk about themselves more then others.

He stood up and held out his hand to her. "So let's forget about him." He said with a smile.

Utau smiled and took his hand. She was a bit hesitant at first but decided, what's the worst that could happen?

They walked along the water and after he had helped her get up, James had remained holding onto her hand. She thought it a bit awkward but didn't mind that much. What's so bad about holding hands. Plus he was a nice guy and maybe she could use someone in her life. She needed to face facts. Kukai did not love her anymore. He felt bad and still liked her as a person, but he didn't love her the way he once had. He loved someone else. Who, she had no idea. She would've guessed Izumi but Kukai insisted it wasn't her. So it seemed there was yet another girl somewhere waiting for him.

She sighed as they walked and James looked over at her.

"What's the story with you two? If your not a couple vacationing then why are you guys here?" He asked. After a moment he added quickly, "If you want to tell me of course. Don't feel like you need to or anything."

She smiled. "Well we used to be a couple. But that was a very long time ago. Five years ago to be exact. We're here because…" She stopped for a moment. Should she tell him? It wasn't like he'd tell anyone or call up her step dad personally when she told him. Plus she didn't have to tell him her whole life story. "Well you see, we're kinda running away." She explained.

"Really? From what?" James asked, a bit interested.

"Well, I guess mostly from my step father." She answered honestly.

He nodded slowly and grinned a bit. She frowned.

"Why are you smiling?"

He looked down to her. "Oh, I was just thinking we should do something to get your mind off all this stuff. Come on." And with that he continued walking, pulling her along with him.

They walked for a few minutes before James stopped again. Then he pointed to the sky.

"The stars are beautiful tonight." He said with a smile. Utau smiled and looked up with him.

"Yeah."

It was silent for a moment. James had finally let go of her hand to walk over to the railing of the waterway.

Suddenly the silence was broken.

"I found you!"

Utau turned around to see Kukai panting and holding his sides.

"Utau, I'm so sorry! You know I didn't mean it! You know I'd never think that! Don't run away anymore. Just come back. I'll make it up to you somehow I'll…" He trailed off as James turned around and was now standing next to Utau.

"James." He said slowly.

James smiled as if he didn't hear the annoyed tone of Kukai's voice. "Nice to see you again. Kyle was it?"

Kukai frowned. "It's Kukai…"

"Oh yeah. Sorry about that. Anyway, Utau's pretty upset with you right now so-"

"I know you didn't mean it Kukai. Sorry I kept running. I just needed to cool off a bit." She told him.

James stood, mouth agape as Utau walked over and hugged Kukai.

He closed his eyes and squeezed her tightly. "I'll try to watch what I say." He said into the hug.

"And I'll watch my own mouth." she said with a chuckle.

She let him go and stood between both boys who seemed to be in a bit of a glaring contest.

Utau didn't really notice and so she went on. "We should all get something to eat. What do you too think?"

"Whatever you want." Kukai said.

"I'll pay." James countered.

Utau thought they had been talking to her but the whole time they hadn't stopped looking at each other.

"No, I'll pay." Kukai told him.

"It's fine. I can pay."

"International soccer star, I can do it."

"Rich kid studying in another country. I think I can handle one lousy bill."

Utau was getting a bit fed up with their bickering.

"I'm paying! International pop singing sensations can pay for their own meals!" Utau shouted. They both looked to her to find her frowning. James gave her a sheepish smile and Kukai grimaced like a child who doesn't get his way.

"Where do you guys want to eat? See any good places on the way in or anything?" She asked them.

"Where ever you want eat." Kukai said to her with a smile.

"How about I surprise you." James said sweetly.

Utau frowned again. What was up with them? "Or how about one of you just tells me a place and we're off. At this rate I may just eat by myself."

"There was an Italian place near the airport with all home cooked specials." James said to her.

Kukai smiled. "Well since I know you hate Italian food I went online before coming her and found the only ramen shop in the city. It's a small place and not far from our hotel. I have the address so we'll just get a cab and go."

Utau smiled. "Ok, let's go!"

James pouted a bit knowing full well that he had lost this round.

***

They made it to the restaurant quickly and were soon sitting down to eat. Kukai and Utau shot knowing glances at each other every once in awhile. Memories hit her like a brick from being here with him.

Poor James didn't have a clue. Utau watched him look at the table for a moment and then up at the two of them.

"Do they have forks?" He asked.

Utau gave him a funny look. "Your going to use a fork to eat ramen…?" She asked.

"Well I don't know how to use chop sticks…" He said slowly.

Utau and Kukai looked at him for a moment. That was unheard of. Not knowing how to use chop sticks? Utau had known since she was about four.

"I'll show you." Utau said quickly, feeling bad about how clueless he was. He was American. In America most people didn't use chop sticks so it wasn't his fault.

She took hers out of the wrapping and broke them apart. He did the same thing she did.

She held them the proper way and showed him her fingers and where to place them. She helped his hands go to the correct places and after a moment he seemed to get it a bit. By the time their food came James was smiling and using his chop sticks to eat. He wasn't exactly an expert but he wasn't bad with them. She was surprised. Most people wouldn't get them that quickly.

Kukai looked at Utau with a glint in his eye and she smiled.

"Oh your on."

At that they both began eating as quickly as possible. James looked on in confusion as the bowls went from overflowing with food to completely empty. They called over the waiter for another order and it seemed to have come quicker then the last one.

They both ate three bowls when Utau finally called it quits.

"You know I could eat more too." Kukai said with a smile.

Utau reached over and smacked his arm. "Show off. You've gotten better. I used to beat you so badly!" She said with a fond laugh.

He smiled. "Well that was before I was a professional athlete. You'd be surprised how much they want us to eat. We need out strength for practice and games so they tell us to eat so many calories." He explained.

Utau nodded. "I see. One day I'll be beating you again. One day."

"What are you guys talking about? Win what?" James asked, interrupting their fond reminiscing.

Kukai sighed. "We used to have ramen eating contests when we were younger. It was how we started talking in the first place. She couldn't turn down a challenge." He smiled at her.

Utau laughed. "I recall a certain someone else who couldn't resist a challenge either." She said poking him.

He laughed.

Then the waiter came with the bill. Utau grabbed it before the boys got any ideas and took some cash out of her pocket to put on the table.

"So you guys ready to leave?" Utau asked.

"Yeah, let's go back to the room. I'm beat." Kukai said with a yawn.

Utau nodded and James stiffened. "_The_ room? As in the only one?"

Utau looked at him for a moment. "That's generally what the sentence would mean." She said sarcastically.

Kukai laughed. "Only one bed too." He smiled at James.

Utau sighed. "And that's why I hope you find the floor comfortable." She smiled at him now and he deflated a bit.

They got up and left the restaurant. Utau looked over to James once they hit the cool night air. "Where are you staying?"

"Not far from where I found you." He looked at Kukai. "Crying."

Kukai cringed and Utau blushed. "I wasn't really crying. I-I oh shut up! Let's just go." She said embarrassed. Kukai didn't need to know the extent of her hurt at the time.

They made it back to the hotel quickly and said their goodbyes to James.

"Bye James!" Utau said with a smile. He smiled brightly back and waved.

"Bye Utau."

"Bye James!" Kukai mimicked in a happy tone. James frowned at him and got back into the cab.

They went right to their room and Kukai collapsed on the bed. "I'm so tired!" He complained.

Utau frowned. "Then get into some comfortable clothes and get on the floor." She told him.

He frowned. He kicked off his shoes but remained laying on the bed. Utau sighed.

"I'm so comfortable though."

"I'm going to go into the bathroom and by the time I get out. I really hope your on the floor." She threatened.

He nodded to her and she went into the bathroom. She changed into a T-shirt and some sweat pants before brushing her teeth and washing her face.

She came out of the bathroom to find that Kukai was now tucked under the blankets, still in the bed.

She furrowed her brows. "I thought I warned you not to-" But the moment she walked around the bed and found him sleeping she stopped. He had snuck his way under the covers and fallen asleep. She couldn't wake him up now. Not when he looked like that. He wasn't arrogant or teasing or the guy that loved someone else, he was just innocent little Kukai again.

She decided she would just be the one to sleep on the floor.

She grabbed the other pillows and put them on the floor along with an extra blanket there had been on the bed. Once everything was down she turned off the light and laid down. Then she tossed and turned for awhile and realized how horribly uncomfortable the floor truly was. After lying awake for a half hour she knew it wasn't going to work.

She got up slowly and looked at Kukai's sleeping form. He was lying on his back on the side closest to the bathroom door. She was on the other side currently. She picked up her pillows and her blanket and put them back on the bed. She lifted the comforter and slid into the bed. Her arm brushed his shoulder and she realized she didn't feel any cloth.

She lifted the comforter a bit and looked at him only to see he wasn't wearing a shirt and was still in his jeans. She put the blanket down quickly and stared up at the ceiling.

Why wasn't he wearing a shirt?? When had he taken it off? And why was he so toned?

She supposed all these questions had obvious answers but she didn't really care. She would've gone back to the floor but Kukai had been right. The bed was so much more comfortable. She closed her eyes and before she knew it, she was asleep. Then the dreams began.

***

She was running in a clearing for some reason and looking around. She realized for a moment that she wasn't alone. Someone else was there. Or something. She ran into a jungle and kept going for what seemed like hours until she finally saw some light and emerged in the middle of a busy city. She turned around and the jungle was gone.

She continued to run though and soon made it to a small park. The same park Kukai had found her in. Sitting on the swing was a slumped over Kukai though. She ran over to him but before she could reach him some kind of force flung her backwards. She landed on her side but got up quickly to find that Kazuomi was now standing before her.

"Leave him alone!" She growled. "He has nothing to do with this."

"It's far too late for that." Kazuomi said with a smile. Utau gritted her teeth. "If you laid one hand on him-"

"What? Are you going to hurt me? Your far out of line. There is nothing you can do to stop me. You'll never end it."

"End what?" She asked but then he disappeared. She couldn't think about her question because she just knew she needed to reach Kukai. She stood next to him but wasn't able to see him face. He was slumped so far down that his head was hanging forward.

She lifted his head slowly. "Kukai…"

Then she screamed an earth shaking scream.

His face was covered in blood and barely recognizable. She slumped over herself and fell to the pavement.

***

"Utau!! Wake up! Utau!"

Her eyes shot open. She was drenched in sweat and panting. Kukai was leaning over her with a worried expression on his face.

She didn't feel it at first but she soon realized she was crying. She sat up and Kukai sat with her. She turned to him, blubbering.

"Kukai! It was just horrible! You were-, and I was- and then he-!" She couldn't finish a thought and before she knew it she was in Kukai's arms. He held her tightly and she mentally thanked him for the support she so desperately needed.

He pulled back a bit so he could look at her face thoughtfully. "It was just a dream. Whatever it was, it will never happen, ok? Don't worry about it too much. I'm fine. Your fine. And he won't get you." He told her with a reassuring smile. She smiled back at him and realized he was right.

After a moment she realized that it was still dark in the room and she was still tired. She looked at the clock and saw that it was two o'clock in the morning.

Her eyelids fluttered.

"Come on, go back to sleep. The same dream can never hit you twice." She nodded and he laid her back down. He got next to her a lot like before and closed his own eyes. But Utau was still scared. It was an irrational fear since Utau knew it was just a dream but all the same she really just wanted to be sure Kukai was with her.

She turned towards him and moved over to his side of the bed. He opened one eye and opened one arm for her. She rested her head on his shoulder and her hands on his chest. He wrapped his arm around her to hold her securely and only then did she feel sleep could come.

She realized idly that he was still in fact shirtless but the thought crossed her mind for only a moment before she was fast asleep. And this time, not one dream came.

**That was fun. I like James and Kukai's little issues with each other. XD Oh and I hope with was a bit longer then usual. I tried to spread it out as much as I could and it is about 700 words longer, according to word. XD So, I tried. Please review! I can't say it enough. Don't wanna sound like one of those annoying writers but I probably do sound that way. Sorry. :x**


	6. Lies

**So many reviews. :'D I really like the way this story is going. I just reread it. XD I don't know why but I just hadn't visited it in so long that I had to reread it to get a better sense of it. Again, sorry it took so long. D: I've been dealing with a lot of crap lately and I'd just like to thank anyone who's been keeping up with this.**

**Well anywho, Reviews!**

**GakuenAliceGRL - xD Utau's a bit oblivious I suppose. **

**Blossoming Hope - Thanks! Glad you like it. And yes they're fighting is quite cute. XD And maybe the dream is, maybe it's not. :o Who knows? XD**

**TheWolfPerson - Thanks! :DDD**

**Nelly - Crystal - Thanksies. It is cute and strangely interesting.**

**Tbaby13 - I know it's been far too long! D: I'm sorry. I always feel guilty about making you guys wait. D:**

**KraZyTomBoy - Aw thanks! I love them too! XD**

**James: Story Time!**

**How'd you get to be in here? I made you up!**

**James: I'm still a character.**

**Oh wow. This is cool. I made you!**

**James: This just got creepy. Elena doesn't own shugo chara.**

**I'm sure you wish I did cause then you'd exist in it. :D**

**James: Uh, suuuure. Stop being creepy and just write!**

**Fiiiiine.**

Five Years Later

Chapter 6: Lies

Utau woke up still in Kukai's arms. He was still asleep but he was wearing a huge grin on his face. She had to laugh at that. She couldn't help but love the feeling of his arms around her. She had missed this feeling. She hated that she was enjoying it though. She knew it was going to come to an end. She decided to close her eyes and pretend she was sleeping to at least allow it to last as long as it could.

She began to concentrate on his breathing. It was slow and even. After awhile his breath suddenly changed beats and seemed more…awake. She opened one eye to look at him. He had his eyes closed tightly. She watched as they relaxed. She closed her eyes quickly and stayed silent. Suddenly she could feel him looking at her but then the feeling disappeared. She opened one eye and saw that he had closed his eyes again. This time he was smiling even more.

She closed her eyes again and the arm around her squeezed her tighter to him.

She knew he was awake and he knew she was awake. Neither of them moved a muscle.

After awhile the silence was finally broken.

"So when do you want to get up?" He asked her.

She smiled and buried her face into his chest.

"Never. I'm tired."

"Suuure you are. If that's the case, then why have you been awake the past half hour?"

It'd been that long? Didn't feel like it had. Either way she had to be stubborn. "I wasn't awake. I just woke up now when you spoke."

He laughed.

"But I see you've been up the last half hour apparently. Creep." She said quietly.

He laughed even harder. "Oh ok. Whatever you say."

Still neither of them moved.

She opened her eyes and looked up slightly to find a pair of deep green eyes piercing her own.

"Well either way, good morning." He said softly. She wasn't quite sure why he was talking so quietly but when she spoke she found herself doing the same thing.

"Good morning."

"How'd you sleep?" He asked her.

"Good. The same dream can't hit you twice after all."

He smiled. "Told you so."

"What about you? How'd you sleep?"

He smiled wider. "I slept great. Better then ever before."

She smiled. "I wonder why that is."

He rolled his eyes but the smiled never left his face.

"Oh and out of curiosity, why did you take your shirt off?" She asked him.

He laughed. "Well it was hot in here and I was too lazy to actually get changed." He smiled. "But you didn't seem to mind."

She blushed and looked away from him. "I have no idea what your trying to imply."

He laughed and then pulled his arm out from under her. Then he sat up and looked down at her. He watched her for a moment and she watched him right back.

Suddenly he leaned down and she closed her eyes. His lips touched hers and they kissed deeply for a long moment. She didn't want him to sit back up but after awhile he did.

He laid down next to her though and after a moment he wrapped his arms around her again. She stayed close to him but she couldn't get that kiss out of her mind. She turned her face up to his and wrapped her arms around his neck. She tilted her head up more and kissed him fiercely. It had been too long she had gone without this. Without him.

She took her mouth off of his after a while and breathed deeply. Suddenly she heard him whispering to her.

"I love you."

Her eyes shot open and she looked up at him.

He was looking down at her with something close to adoration. "I do." He said quietly. He buried his face in her hair. "I've missed you so much."

She was speechless. She didn't know what to say. "But I thought-"

"You thought wrong." He said quickly.

She smiled up at him. "I love you too. I always have."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her sweetly for a moment. "Let's go out. I'm gonna take a shower and finally change out of these pants."

Utau laughed. "You do that."

He got up and went into the closet to get some clothes before running into the bathroom.

Utau sat up and stretched. She looked out the window and wondered for a moment if she was dreaming. It was very possible. She had very realistic dreams.

Suddenly she heard a phone ringing. It wasn't her cell phone because she had thrown it out before coming here. They'd be able to track her with it.

She looked around and found Kukai's cell phone on the night table. She looked at the caller ID and saw it read 'Hikari'.

She looked to the bathroom door and heard the shower still running. She wondered if it'd be wrong of her to answer his phone…

She picked up the phone anyway.

"Hello?"

"Kukai? Baby? Who is this?"

Utau froze. Baby? "Who the hell is this?"

Hikari was silent for a moment. "This is Kukai's girlfriend, Hikari? Who are you?"

Utau stayed silent. The bathroom door opened and Kukai walked out. He noticed her on his phone and looked at her with a curious expression on.

She glared at him.

"Oh, you're his _girlfriend_?" She said with emphasis.

Kukai froze with wide eyes.

"Yeah, now who the hell is this?" Hikari demanded.

Utau couldn't deal with this girl right now so she just hung up the phone and stared at Kukai.

"Utau, it's not what you think-"

Utau threw the phone across the room. "How could you lie to me!" She screamed.

He stood there silently. "Izumi, Hikari, how many girlfriends do you have? You were trying to go for three?"

"Izumi isn't my girlfriend!"

"Oh so just Hikari. I feel so much better now." Utau said sarcastically. "I just can't believe this. You have the nerve to tell me you love me? You have the nerve to lie right to my face?"

"I wasn't lying!"

Tears began to stream down Utau's face without her noticing or caring. "I'm so done with this. I should have never left. Kazuomi could never hurt me as badly as you have." She said quietly before grabbing her bag and running out the door.

She ran out of the hotel and this time Kukai didn't follow her.

She walked down the same paths she had run last night, pulling her bag after her. It was much lighter because half of her clothes were still in the little closet in the room.

Soon enough she found the bench she had cried on last night. She walked over to the water and looked down at her reflection. Tears were still streaming down her cheeks and she was still in a T-shirt and sweat pants. Her hair was a mess so she just took it down completely. Luckily she had put on some flats lying on the floor before she went outside. She wiped the tears off of her face and looked around the area for a hotel. She found one and went inside.

She went into the lobby and looked around. Someone in the small restaurant near saw her though and ran into the lobby.

"Utau!" She looked over to see James. She smiled.

"I was looking for you." She told him. She had remembered he told her he was staying in a hotel near where he had found her crying and she didn't know where else to go.

He smiled. "Why do you have your bag? Do you want to stay here?"

Utau shrugged. "Sure. I don't know where else to go."

"Where's Kukai?" He asked quietly.

She frowned and looked down at the ground. "I don't wanna talk about it."

James shook his head. "I can't believe him. How many times can he hurt you and get away with it!" He said angrily.

Utau frowned.

"Last time he made you cry and you just jumped into his arms the moment you saw him."

Utau frowned even more. "This time's different, he's not getting away with anything. And besides either way, it's known of your business how or when I forgive him for things, okay?" She said, getting a little angry at his reaction.

He looked at her and his face softened. "I'm sorry. Your right. You said you didn't want to talk about it and here I am talking about it. Let's just forget about him. Come on, you can come to my room and put your stuff down."

They went up the elevator and Utau noticed how much nicer this hotel was then the last.

They made it to the room and again Utau noticed how much nicer it was. She put her bag down on the small couch in the corner.

"Can I take a shower and get changed? I left before I got the chance to do that."

James nodded and Utau took her bag into the bathroom with her. She took a quick shower and felt much better when she got out. She couldn't stop thinking of Kukai's kisses though. Then all she heard was Hikari's voice. She wondered if she was pretty.

She came out of the bathroom and James was sitting on the bed reading the paper. She laughed when she noticed it was a New York paper from the US.

"Why are you reading the paper if you're not even home?" She asked.

He looked up at her and laughed. "I still want to know what's going on back home."

Utau frowned. She wondered what was going on back at her home.

She walked over to the hotel telephone on the night table. "This works right?" She asked.

He nodded.

She dialed her house number and prayed her mother picked up and not Kazuomi.

"Hello?" She heard her mother say.

Utau let out her breath. "Mom? It's Utau. Is Kazuomi home?" She asked.

"Utau! Oh I'm so glad to hear from you! No, he's not here. He's at work. Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I can't really tell you mom. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

Her mother laughed. "I'm alright now that I know your okay."

Utau smiled. Her mother was always so broken and hearing her this happy made her feel better about choosing to call her.

"I'm sorry I've been away. I promise to come back for you soon. We're gonna get you out of there okay? Now I can't really talk but I love you and I'll try to call again, okay?"

"Okay, honey. I love you. Please be careful."

"Bye mom."

"Bye."

Utau hung up the phone and a tear slid down her face. James was watching her.

He put his arms around her. "She'll be okay. He won't suspect she knows."

Utau smiled. "Your right. He thinks she's stupid."

James nodded. "Let's go get some lunch."

Utau looked at the clock and saw that it was already one o'clock. How late had she slept? She hadn't eaten since last night and she realized she was starving.

"Okay."

They left the hotel and went to a small café they found easily. Utau didn't eat much because once the food came she could only think about Kukai, Hikari, and her mother so she suddenly wasn't so hungry.

James was worried and asked her to eat more but she just told him she wasn't hungry.

They left the café and James suggested they take a walk.

"I know the perfect place we can go!" He told her. She smiled and agreed to go.

"I know a short cut to it too." He beamed.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"It's a surprise."

She laughed. "I don't like surprises."

"Too bad." He laughed with her.

They made it down a few streets until James looked at an ally and pointed down it. "This is a shortcut."

Utau followed him down the ally and halfway down it got very dark.

James smiled and stopped walking. "Close your eyes." He told her.

She laughed. "Do I really have to?"

He smiled. "Yes. Come on, just do it."

She closed her eyes and allowed him to lead her. Suddenly she was shoved into the wall and she opened her eyes quickly.

"James what are you-"

He quickly put duck tape over her mouth. She tried to run from him but he pinned her to the wall and wrapped duck tape around her wrists and then around her ankles.

She looked at him in confusion and muffled through the duck tape.

He laughed at her.

"Utau Hoshina. Daughter of Souko and step daughter of Kazuomi or as I call him, boss."

She stared at him in shock. He worked for Easter?

"Oh man. You fell for it bad. You really believed I was some quiet, rich kid. Once you told me what you were running away from I know you were her. I wasn't sure at first that I'd really stumbled upon the real Utau Hoshina that easily but when you told me that, I knew it. I called up the boss and told him I had you and would be returning with you quickly. We have a private jet waiting just for us."

Utau couldn't believe it. She had trusted him. She had gone to him when she had no where else to go. Where was Kukai? She shrunk down. What did it matter? He didn't really love her. He was a liar. Maybe it'd be better to get her punishment and go back to the way things were.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as James picked her up and put her into the back seat of a car that had been in the ally. The windows were heavily tinted so no one would see her bound up in the back seat.

She wished she had never skipped work that day. She wished she had never found Kukai again. The pain she had lived with then was nothing like what she'd have to go through now. She'd been through so much and for what? For Kukai to betray her and for Kazuomi to just get in a few more beatings. It wasn't worth it.

That was the last time she'd ever take a chance like that again. She realized that either way, they always find you…

**:OOO What a twist! And a cliff hanger. I really am **_**that**_** evil. Oh man but that chapter was fuuuuun. It had everything in it! Kutau cuteness, betrayal, stupid girlfriends, crying, more betrayal, and a shocker. :O it was just insane. Review please and I hope to be back soon. :D**


	7. Pain

**I'm back again! Sorry to leave such a cliff hanger. And for so long! I'm truly evil. D: In a bad way. BUT I RETURN! :D …Sorry, I'm weird.**

**Reviews!**

**Free Parking: xD I can't believe-**

**And then you said-**

**And you thought-**

**And I read the review-**

**And I can't finish thoughts either! I'm so glad you liked it! XD**

**Tbaby13: Thanks! So happy you think it's good! :D**

**TheWolfPerson: Thanks! I wonder. :o**

**GakuenAliceGRL: I know right? :O**

**KraZyTomBoy: Urgh. Sorry it took so long. Glad you liked it though. :D**

**Ryoko's Lost Memories: I love that you write your reviews in Japanese. I'd do that right now for you but any translators would just give me characters and not letters since I don't know Japanese and can't do it myself. XD But anyway, I'm really glad you like this! Your reviews make me happy. XD And you were right about James. D: And I translated the Japanese in your last review…hehe. I liked that.**

**MidnightAngeel: Thanks! :DD**

**gkanimefan: This is random but when I typed your name into Microsoft word, it auto corrected it to knifeman. XD I don't know how. But anywho, thanks! Sorry about the update being so late. D:**

**FallingKaede: :D YES! You beat James with that pan! Beat him good! XD Stupid Kukai and James. Poor little Utau. D:**

**jdcocoagirl: Thanks! I'm gonna be honest with you though, I don't know what you mean by having it beta'd. xD**

**Phew. That was a lot of reviews.**

**Utau: Don't brag.**

**I'm not! I'm just…so happy. :'D**

**Utau: Oh god. You went and made her cry.**

**PEOPLE ARE SO NICE! DX**

**Utau: …Elena doesn't own shugo chara. Now just write.**

**Okay…*sniffle***

Five Years Later

Chapter 7: Pain

"You know, it's really a shame."

Utau looked over at James as they flew back to Japan.

"What?" She asked. He had taken the duct tape off in the plane when she promised not to scream for help at any point. Not that anyone on the plane would help her.

"Well, you're pretty cute. But you're also pretty stupid."

Utau glared at him.

"Well I just mean, you really thought you'd get away from Easter? And then you trusted me, some complete stranger. I don't know, sounds pretty stupid to me."

Utau didn't say anything. He was right. She was pretty stupid.

"So since I'm not "sweet and caring James" anymore and I don't really care about your feelings at all, whatever happened to that Kukai guy? He was annoying and believe me, I was happy to hear he was out of the picture, since it just made things that much easier for me, but really, what happened? You get in another fight?" He asked in a mocking tone.

Utau just clenched her teeth and looked away from him.

"Jeez, here I am trying to start some conversations and you just ignore me." He scooted over on the couch they were on and put an arm around her. "Listen here, I could make this a lot easier for you. The boss is probably going to put someone in charge of you from now on, most likely me, and don't you want our time together to be spent…nicely?" He asked.

She wanted to bite his arm but she refrained. It was just easier to ignore him.

He shook her a little. "I'll take that as a yes." He said with a smile and suddenly his mouth was on hers.

This she couldn't ignore. She thrust him away from her and stood up quickly. "Don't touch me."

He frowned. "You're gonna regret this decision."

She walked over to the couch on the other side of the plane and sat down. Then the seat belt light went on and Utau knew they would be landing soon.

* * *

She was brought straight to headquarters. She assumed she was going to get to be in the wonderful presence of Kazuomi. How she couldn't wait.

She was led into a dark room by James and thrown into a chair before he left the room. Her arms had been cuffed behind her back when they had gotten off the jet.

The door opened and Kazuomi came in. He stood in front of her and she defiantly glared up at him.

He slapped her across the face.

She blinked a few times from the surprise of the hit and looked back up at Kazuomi.

"I don't even know what to say to you right now." He said slowly, his voice full of anger. "Did you really think you could get away though?" He asked slowly.

She figured the same strategy she had used on James, could be used again. She said nothing.

"You know the only thing you ended up doing was dragging your little boyfriend into this."

She stared straight ahead as if she were emotionless. But on the inside she was scared. She hadn't thought about that. They knew about Kukai now. As much as she hated him at the moment, she still couldn't help but love him. She didn't want him to be dragged into this. That had been what all her pain and suffering these past five years had been for. And now he was brought into this anyway.

_Poor Hikari_. She thought bitterly.

"Well? Explain yourself! Say something!" He shouted.

She turned her head away from him and said nothing.

He ripped her out of the chair and threw her on the floor.

"I've HAD IT with you! The only reason you're even alive, is because I need you to sing. But if you continue to stay a mute then I won't have a use for you, now will I?"

She remained silent, lying on the floor. Kazuomi kicked her in the face at her lack of an answer. Utau felt the blood flowing from her nose and wondered for a moment if it was broken. He then moved over to the rest of her body and kept kicking.

After awhile Utau couldn't take the pain anymore. "I'll sing for you!" She cried out.

He finally stopped kicking her and smiled. "Good, now I don't have to kill you."

He sat down in the chair she had been in and lit a cigarette. She was lying on the floor, curled up into a ball.

Then she felt white hot burning on her shoulder. She cried out and looked towards the pain. He was burning her with his cigarette.

"I said I'd sing!" She yelled.

"And I said I won't kill you. That's all I said I won't do."

Another searing on her shoulder as he moved the cigarette and another cry from Utau.

It was the longest night of Utau's life.

* * *

She was finally allowed to go to her new bedroom when Kazuomi was done inflicting all the pain he could on her. She was thrown into an average sized room with a large bed. The room itself was nice. It had light blue wallpaper and sheets on the bed to match. The bedpost itself was white, matching the dresser in the room, filled with clothes. There was even an attached bathroom.

Only thing that didn't make it homey enough for her was the fact that all the windows were barred and she knew there were men outside, guarding the door.

She sat down on the bed in complete pain. Between the burns all over her arms, the cuts up and down her legs, or the whip marks on her bleeding back, she didn't know which was worse.

She looked at the clock. It said it was three in the morning.

She would have gotten changed and taken a shower, but she was too tired. She laid down on the bed on her stomach to hopefully minimize the pain.

She reached up and felt her nose. It appeared it wasn't broken, which was good. The blood had stopped but it was still all over her face and her tank top. She had jeans on that were covered in blood and rips where Kazuomi had cut her through the jeans.

She realized it would really be best if she took a shower and washed all her wounds out. She didn't need an infection on top of all this.

She got into the bathroom and painfully peeled off all her clothing before getting into the shower. She made the water cool and the pressure low. She didn't need anymore pain.

She washed out all her wounds although it was hard to do her back. She watched as the water ran red until finally it was clear. She had stopped bleeding and she was grateful for that at least. She did feel better now that she had cleaned of all the blood. The wounds felt better as well. She looked at the bruises on her face in the mirror. It was just on her nose and one cheek. He hadn't done much to her face. Perhaps he realized that that was noticeable to the public.

She crawled into bed and laid on her stomach again. Sleep came quickly but she continued to wake up throughout the night. She always looked next to her and realized she wasn't back in the hotel with Kukai. She wished that the whole day had been a dream. But sadly it wasn't.

She could easily say today had been the worse day of her life.

* * *

A week passed. All she did was sing and sit in her room. She occasionally was given a meal but she was never really hungry.

This was her life now. How much better it had been. She wished she could go back to the way things were before she took that stupid day off. Before Kukai had found her. Honestly, none of it was worth it. None of it was worth the life she was living now. Perhaps if she truly thought Kukai loved her, if she had never known about Hikari, then she'd think it was worth it. But that was her biggest pain. Her aching heart hurt worse then anything Kazuomi could ever do to her.

The wounds were starting to heal and she hadn't gotten anymore punishments from Kazuomi since then. At this point, pride was out the window. Survival was her new game, and she just had to do everything and anything anyone wanted her to do and she'd be fine.

She had asked to see her mother but Kazuomi forbid it. She had been upset but she said nothing. She didn't want any more pain.

One night she was sitting in her room as usual. It was quiet. She looked at the clock. Only seven. She had to wait a little while longer before she could go to sleep though. She looked out the window at the night sky.

The door opened and she turned around quickly. She nearly dropped to the floor though at the girl in front of her.

It was Amu Hinamori.

She closed the door quietly behind her and walked over to Utau.

"Utau, we're here to get you out." she said quietly.

Utau stared into her golden eyes in shock. "How'd you get here?" She asked slowly.

"Kukai found us. We've come to save you. We'll explain more later."

"But Amu! Ikuto's here? And where's Kukai?"

"Kukai had to split up with us at one point and Ikuto's distracting the guards. Kukai and Ikuto are extremely wanted here, as you can imagine, so Ikuto sent me to come get you." Utau nodded and stood up.

"Okay, let's get out of here."

Amu nodded and they walked towards the door. Utau slipped on sneakers quickly as Amu opened the door slowly to make sure the guards hadn't come back.

They walked out slowly and Utau could hear grunting from around the corner. Then silence.

Suddenly Ikuto stepped into the hall and looked over to them. It appeared he had successfully taken out the guards.

Ikuto walked over to the two of them. Utau didn't know what to say. She looked up at him, hurt evident on her face.

"Utau we don't have time for this here." Ikuto told her.

But Utau shook her head. "No. I-you left me here. You left me all alone. You abandoned me. You hurt me." And at that Utau burst into tears. Ikuto looked quite shocked at his sister's outburst.

"Utau, I'm sorry. We'll talk about this later though. Right now we need to get out of here."

Utau knew he was right. She wanted to be stubborn and childish and stay right there until they talked it all out, but in that time they'd be captured. And she didn't even wanna know what Kazuomi would do to her then.

She nodded and with that they headed for the exit.

"Where's Kukai?" Utau asked, wiping away any remaining tears as they made it into the stairwell.

"We don't have time to find him now. He's somewhere in here. He'll make it out." Ikuto told her.

Utau stopped running at that. "We have to find him! We can't just leave him here!"

"Utau, we don't know where he is…" Amu said quietly.

"Where did you leave him?"

"Last we saw him, he was on the third floor." Ikuto told her.

Her room was on the forth floor. She ran down the stairs and out the door onto the third floor. Ikuto and Amu ran after her.

"Utau, how do we know if he's still here? He might be up by your room. If that's the case, then he'll see your not there, and get out." Ikuto reasoned.

Utau shook her head as she was reminded of her dream. "Kazuomi could easily capture him. He was all by himself. If a lot of guards were on him at once…" She trailed off and ran down more halls. They followed her but suddenly a group of guards was trailing them.

"We need to split up." Utau said quickly.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea!" Amu yelled but it was too late as Utau had begun running in a different direction and Ikuto had grabbed Amu's hand to be sure she would follow him.

Utau ran faster as a few guards went down the same hall and chased her. Suddenly she saw guards in front of her and she realized she was closed in.

She cursed under her breath and stopped running. She looked around. There was no where to go. No doors, or other halls. The guards closed in on her and before she was grabbed she heard a voice call "Hold on."

James made his way through the guards and into the circle of space Utau was standing in.

"Yes. I was right. Very stupid."

Utau glared at him.

"Oh, no comment again? Hmm, too bad. I was going to ask if you wanted me to deliver a message to your dear Kukai."

Her eyes widened. "You have him?"

James laughed. "Yeah, we have him. I'll take you to him." He told her with a smile.

She followed him in hopes of seeing Kukai. James motioned for the guards to move and he brought her to a door.

"Guard the door." He told them and opened it a little. It was dark in the room as far as Utau could see.

He opened the door wider and pulled Utau into the room. He closed the door behind him and turned on a dim light.

The room was empty. Utau finally realized that James was right. She really was an idiot.

She turned towards James and he just laughed. But he didn't say anything, which Utau had been expecting.

"Well he's not here. I see that now. Now bring me wherever your suppose to bring me already."

"I don't think so." James said as he watched her. She felt like a caged animal. And James was watching her like she was his prey.

"Let me out of here." She tried to sound menacing but the fear was evident in her shaking voice.

He got closer to her and she backed away from him until she hit the wall. Then he closed in on her.

He grabbed her and pressed his lips against hers, hard. She tried to push him away but it was too hard. His hands were all over her suddenly. She pushed him harder and he pushed against her harder. She screamed against his mouth but he just grabbed onto her waist tightly.

She struggled and he began to tear at her shirt. She smacked his hands and felt the hot tears on her face.

"Let me go!" She cried out.

Suddenly the door burst open. James turned his head keeping a tight hold on her. Utau looked and her eyes widened when she saw Kukai. And he was angrier then she'd ever seen him before.

He ran over to James and ripped him off of Utau. She fell to the floor once she was no longer being forced to stand.

Kukai punched James in the face so hard that he fell to the floor in one hit. Then he jumped on James and continued to punch him.

Utau stood quickly and ran over to Kukai.

"Kukai!" He didn't even hear her. "Kukai!" Again he just continued to punch him.

"Kukai stop! I'm okay! Just stop!" She screamed. And finally he did stop. He turned to her and then looked down at James, who he was still sitting on top of. His face was full of blood and barely recognizable.

Kukai stood up and got off of James as he wailed in pain.

"Never touch her again." he growled in James' direction before turning to Utau.

He took a few steps closer and pulled her into an embrace. And Utau couldn't resist him. She hugged him back as tears flooded her eyes. For that moment though, she didn't think about Izumi or Hikari or whoever. Right now, he was hers, here in her arms, and that was all she needed at the moment.

He pulled away slightly. "You're sure your okay?" He asked her. She nodded but flinched.

"What? What's wrong?" He asked quickly.

She shook her head and pulled his arms away. "It's just…my back." She said. Wrestling with James hadn't helped the old wounds on her body. And his hands on her back didn't help either.

He turned her around and lifted the back of her shirt slowly. She could hear him gasp behind her and he quickly turned her back around. "Who?" She said through clenched teeth.

"Kazuomi…and his whip." She said slowly. He gripped her arms and again she winced.

"What now?" he said worriedly.

"My…arms." She told him and then he raised her sleeves and saw all the cigarette burns. She could tell he wanted to kill Kazuomi by the look on his face.

"Kukai, come on. We just have to get out of here right now. It's too dangerous."

He dropped her sleeve and nodded. "You're right. We just have to get out of here. I wonder where Amu and Ikuto are."

"They're on this floor somewhere. We split up." Kukai looked at her.

"How'd you get in here?"

She shook her head though. "That's not important now."

They ran through the door and into the hall. Utau could see all the guards were passed out in the hall and she looked over at Kukai.

"I heard you screaming from in the hallway. I was pissed…"

She nodded and continued on. It was enough of an explanation for now. They ran down the hall and when they hit a cross section Utau heard Amu yell her name. She turned in the direction of Amu's voice and saw her and Ikuto running towards them.

"You found Kukai!" Amu said happily.

"Actually, he found me." Utau corrected as they found the stairs again.

"And let's just say, I don't even think James' parents would recognize him now." Kukai stated darkly.

Amu looked over at Kukai worriedly and then at Utau. Utau just shrugged. She had never seen Kukai so angry before. It had scared her. For his sake.

They ran out the entrance and reached the fresh air outside.

"Okay, we need to get to the airport and get out of here." Ikuto said quickly.

"Wait!" Utau yelled. "Ikuto, we need to get mom."

"Mom?"

"Yes. We can't leave her behind. I'm afraid of what he'll do to her…"

Ikuto nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

**Utau: WHAT THE HELL?**

**Hehe…sorry. I just…uh…it was for the story…?**

**Utau: Your dead.**

**Hey! Don't kill the writer! Then you die too!**

**Utau: Not really. I'm not your character. Only James would die. And who cares about that?**

**Hmm…you have a point…so review dear readers! :D And hopefully before Utau kills me. D:**


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